1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a self-aligned process for manufacturing a phase change memory cell and to a phase change memory cell thereby manufactured.
2. Description of the Related Art
As is known, phase change memory (PCM) elements exploit the characteristics of materials which have the property of changing between two phases having distinct electrical characteristics. For example, these materials may change from an amorphous phase, which is disordered, to a crystalline or polycrystalline phase, which is ordered, and the two phases are associated to considerably different resistivities.
At present, alloys of group VI of the periodic table, such as Te or Se, referred to as chalcogenides or chalcogenic materials, can advantageously be used in phase change cells. The chalcogenide that currently offers the best promises is formed by a Ge, Sb and Te alloy (Ge2Sb2Te5) and is widely used for storing information in overwritable disks.
In chalcogenides, the resistivity varies by two or more orders of magnitude when the material passes from the amorphous phase (more resistive) to the polycrystalline phase (more conductive) and vice versa. The characteristics of chalcogenides in the two phases are shown in FIG. 1. As may be noted, at a given read voltage, here designated by Vr, there is a resistance variation of more than 10.
Phase change may be obtained by locally increasing the temperature, as shown in FIG. 2. Below 150° C. both phases are stable. Above 200° C. (temperature of start of nucleation, designated by Tx), fast nucleation of the crystallites takes place, and, if the material is kept at the crystallization temperature for a sufficient length of time (time t2), it changes its phase and becomes crystalline. To bring the chalcogenide back into the amorphous state, it is necessary to raise the temperature above the melting temperature Tm (approximately 600° C.) and then to cool the chalcogenide off rapidly (time t1)
From the electrical standpoint, it is possible to reach both critical temperatures, namely the crystallization temperature and the melting point, by causing a current to flow through a resistive element which heats the chalcogenic material by the Joule effect.
The basic structure of a PCM element 1 which operates according to the principles described above is shown in FIG. 3 and comprises a resistive element 2 (heater) and a programmable element 3. The programmable element 3 is made of a chalcogenide and is normally in the polycrystalline state in order to enable a good flow of current. One part of the programmable element 3 is in direct contact with the resistive element 2 and forms the area affected by phase change, hereinafter referred to as the phase change portion 4.
If an electric current having an appropriate value is caused to pass through the resistive element 2, it is possible to heat the phase change portion 4 selectively up to the crystallization temperature or to the melting temperature and to cause phase change. In particular, if a current I flows through a resistive element 2 having resistance R, the heat generated is equal to I2R.
The use of the PCM element of FIG. 3 for forming memory cells has already been proposed. In order to prevent noise caused by adjacent memory cells, the PCM element is generally associated to a selection element, such as a MOS transistor, a bipolar transistor, or a diode.
All the known approaches are, however, disadvantageous due to the difficulty in finding solutions that meet present requirements as regards capacity for withstanding the operating currents and voltages, as well as functionality and compatibility with present CMOS technologies.
In particular, considerations of a technological and electrical nature impose the creation of a contact area of small dimensions, preferably 20 nm×20 nm, between the chalcogenic region and a resistive element. The problem is that these dimensions are much smaller than those that can be obtained with current optical (UV) lithographic techniques, which scarcely reach 100 linear nm.